Skip to content

When NOT to use a white paper

I believe white papers are the most powerful form of content any B2B company can produce. But there are times when using a white paper may not be the best choice to reach an audience.  Whether you’re a white paper copywriter or a B2B marketer, remember that a white paper may not work well in any of these situations:…

Read More

Why you should include video in your next white paper

There is a good reason to include video in your next white paper. Your white paper reader is changing. Today’s decision-makers are pressed for time and attention. Like all of us, they’re distracted by social media, e-mail, workday interruptions, and way too much content coming their way. They also face meetings, reports to write, decisions to make. The result is…

Read More

How to create a white paper mashup

vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream to represent the 3 flavours of white papers

What if you need a white paper that’s more than just one flavor? As you know, I believe there are three main “flavors” of white papers. Vanilla: A backgrounder zooms in on a certain product or service. Ideal for prospects doing a technical evaluation near end of the sales funnel. Chocolate: A problem/solution zooms out to show an industry-wide problem…

Read More

10 ways to be a good SME

This article from guest contributor Janice King offers a new perspective on how to create high-quality marketing materials by putting together a subject matter expert and a writer. Keep these tips in mind if you provide subject knowledge or share a writer with the engineers and other experts in your company. Have you ever been a SME? As…

Read More

"Cheat sheets" for white papers: a new format for you?

As a B2B marketer, you’re likely under pressure to empower your sales team with great content. Are your sales reps asking for something “short” they can hand out at a meeting or e-mail to prospects?  Your reps may believe customers don’t want to read lengthy pieces and would prefer something shorter they can quickly skim. This…

Read More

Video and slide-share white papers: Do they work?

A colleague and I recently put together a talk on white papers done as videos and slide shows. Apryl Parcher is a white paper writer and social media expert from WhitePaperResults.com. Apryl and I wanted to respond to the new formats for white papers we’ve seen cropping up, especially videos and slide shows. We present a few…

Read More

When is a white paper NOT a white paper?

Here’s a headline I spotted recently: “Big Truck TV Launches a New Online Video White Paper Channel.” Naturally I was curious. This turned out to be a set of presentations with a talking head giving advice to trucking companies. So what’s with calling these “white papers?” Some people are tempted to call anything they create…

Read More

White paper success story: Vircom

When Montreal-based anti-spam software developer Vircom released a controversial white paper, their website started getting hits. A lot of hits. So many hits, in fact, that they wondered if someone had launched a denial-of-service (DoS) attack against the company. After the smoke cleared, the breakthrough report “Why Spammers Spam” had been downloaded 2,200+ times… sparked…

Read More